Tips for kids from Barney Saltzberg, author of Beautiful Oops! and My Book of Beautiful Oops!.
Most of us forget to play. Lots of ideas come from playing.
Making up songs is a great way to explore creativity. “I’m running through the sprinklers, because I don’t have a pool and I’m trying to stay cool…” Anything goes when you are making up a song.
Drawing is a great way to stay creative. Make a squiggle on a piece of paper. Flip it around, turn it into a face and make up a story. Don’t limit yourself to having a paper and pencil. You could dip your finger in ice water and draw on the sidewalk. The key is to let yourself have fun and to see what happens. You can even make a picture with suntan lotion when you are applying it.
I still get in trouble for this one, but make a face out of the food. The crust of a pizza makes a great mouth. Olive eyes? Pickle nose? Your art supplies are, whatever you are eating! (Sorry, if this makes you crazy, parents, but you might have a budding Picasso so don’t limit their creativity!)
There are no rules when it comes to being creative. I have already mentioned, the key is to play. If you don’t like the way you draw, try drawing with the hand you don’t usually use. Then, if you don’t like the drawing, you have an excuse. Then again, you might just surprise yourself.
Put on some good music and create!
For more from Barney on childhood creativity and the importance of making mistakes, check out Celebrate Oops! here.
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